#m!a end

oh right!!!

Hey….erhmm..steven..

What now peridot?..

Uhhhhhhhhhh…eat this…REGULAR PEPPER!!!!

Huh?..why should I-

NO MORE TIME JUST DO IT!!!!!!

ok fine..NOM…OH MY STARS WHAT IS THIS?!?!!!?

YES YES, GIVE ME YOUR SPIT AND TEARS NYEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHE!!!!!!!! NOW GO SHOO SHOO!!!!!!

AGHHHHHHHH I NEED WATER!!!!!

Oh no! This barrel has catnip in it!

It's only really out of habit and some vain hope for change that you keep checking almost every barrel you come across in the House. Plus, sometimes they do have random items in them!! It's! Handy!!!

Usually, your family expresses mild concern over your apparent obsession, but they humor you anyway.

But this loop, you've gotten to hear a lot of new dialogue, and now seems to be no exception! As you're about to crack open the lid of one of the many barrels in the second floor's breakroom, it's Odile that speaks up this time.

"...What are you looking for in those, Siffrin?" she asks. "You've been rather dogged in your quest to search seemingly every barrel in the House."

You're halfway through coming up with a joke about how cats can't do anything doggedly when you're interrupted by a giggle from Mirabelle. "Maybe he's looking for catnip!"

"Oh, Change, that'd be so cute," Isabeau gushes, eyes sparkling.

You playfully stick your tongue out at the three of them as you open the lid. It's not like catnip would have much effect on you anyw...

The smell hits you. Eyes wide, your head whips around to confirm what your nose already knows.

"What the crab!" Bonnie exclaims, peeking over the top next to you. "Did Belle actually summon catnip for real???"

"D-did I???"

Your tail already twitching wildly, you're about to reach in before you're rudely pulled back by the collar of your cloak.

"Gems, not now," Odile groans. When her attempt at scruffing you doesn't prove effective enough, she gently shoves your head away from the barrel. "Siffrin, no. We don't have time for this. I should have thought to bring a spray bottle," she adds under her breath.

Knowing you won't be winning this one without some cheap tricks, you look up at Odile with the biggest, saddest kitty cat eyes you can muster. Not even Odile is cold-hearted enough to resist the kitty cat eyes.

"Booooo," Bonnie heckles in defense of your cause. Mira quickly joins them.

"So mean, M'dame!" says Isa.

Under your combined pressure, Odile's stern expression cracks minutely.

"Later," she says, "alright? We can come back for some after we beat the King. I'm sure the Housemaidens will be thrilled to share some with you."

But there won't be a later!!! You redouble your efforts to convince her, further widening your eyes and letting your lower lip tremble juuuust a little.

"If you keep pouting like that, you won't be getting any." She's so cold!!!

"Belle's the leader," Bonnie says, pointing to Mirabelle. "She decides."

"Oh!!" Mira startles, caught off-guard by Bonnie's invocation of her power. You think even she forgets she's the leader half the time. It takes a second, but she collects herself. "Um. Sadly, I think Madame's right, we should stay focused... I'm sorry, Siffrin."

You spin towards her, hand over your heart. "Betrayal," you gasp. "Mira, how could you?" She gives you an apologetic smile in return.

Bonnie turns their 'boo'ing towards Mira as Odile says, the hint of a smirk on her face, "Well, you heard the leader. Let's go." She turns, already making her way to the door, Mirabelle following with a quick glance backwards.

You take one last sad glance at the barrel on the way out, but you at least have the self-control to pull yourself away. Reluctantly. Very reluctantly.

"Aw, man," Isa says, falling in step beside you. "Sorry, Sif. But we can come back for some later!"

You let out an exaggerated sigh and hang your head in defeat. "So mean to me..."

He chuckles, and then pats you on the head. Oh. Right. That's a thing they do in this loop. Because you're cute enough to be touched. "It'll be okay, buddy."

You can't help but press up into his hand just a little bit, rewarding you with another laugh and some scritches between the ears, which at least sort of makes up for the loss of catnip.

As you pass by the table, the broken vial catches your eye, the shards of glass sparkling under the stilled torchlight. But you won't be able to take one without Isabeau seeing, and you don't think you'll need it this loop anyway, so you leave it be, and move on to the rest of the floor.

----

During your snack break, Bonnie surprises you by presenting you with the fish head before you have the opportunity to choose.

"Here ya go, Frin," they say with a grin. "I thought you'd want the fish head!"

You'd long since gotten tired of all of the snacks, fish head included, but this time it actually does sound kind of appealing. You take it from them, smiling. "Thank you, Bonbon!"

"Hehe," they giggle, and then reach up to pet you. "Goooood kitty."

They return to their seat with their own snack, glancing your way every few seconds.

A couple bites into your own snack, you begin to realize why they gave you this one specifically.

While you don't remember ever eating catnip before, you can tell that there's something different about the fish head this loop, and there's really only one thing they would've added to it.

You flick your tail happily, and smile Bonnie's way before really digging in. They give you a sneaky wink.

"Aww," Mira coos, smiling at you warmly. "Looks like someone really likes fish!"

"Yeah," Isa agrees. "I don't think I've ever seen Sif this happy while they're eating, and that's saying something!"

A blush creeps onto your face, which probably isn't from the attention alone. You'd usually duck into your collar to hide with everyone's eyes on you at once, but you find yourself weirdly okay with it. You don't mind it at all! In fact, this is the best you've felt in a long time!!!

"This is the most excited I've seen Siffrin in a while," Odile says, and then, "Wait a second."

She narrows her eyes at you, glaring intently at your eye, and then your tail, and then the almost-finished fish head in your hands, and then back to your eye. Then, she turns her glare on Bonnie.

"Boniface."

Bonnie grins at her.

"Boniface," she repeats. "You did not just give Siffrin a fish head stuffed with catnip."

Their grin widens, and Odile brings a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose under her glasses. "You children are going to be the death of me."

"Bonnie," Mirabelle chides, but she doesn't sound too disappointed. "We agreed we'd wait until later!"

"But what if there isn't a later?" Bonnie argues, which draws a wince from you and seemingly everyone else. Were they listening, earlier...? About what to do if any of you...

Before anyone can respond, they add, "Plus, Frin looked super sad when you told him no. Also they've been acting weird like, all day. Also also, I know you guys wanted to do it too."

...

......

............

"Well, what's done is done!" Isa says, breaking the awkward silence. "We can wait a few minutes to let Sif get it out of their system, right?"

"I suppose," Odile concedes, though she doesn't sound as displeased as she probably wants to.

Everyone goes back to their snacks. Bonnie's outburst sobered you a little bit... but you still feel pretty good! Kind of restless, though. After you finish your catnip-laced fish head, you fiddle with the laces on your boots and resist the urge to sprint around the room.

Seeming to notice your restlessness, Mira pipes up, "Um, Siffrin?"

Your gaze snaps to her.

"Go ahead and stop me if I'm wrong, but..." She fishes around in her pocket for a second before procuring what looks to be a spare ribbon. She wiggles it a little, and you lock onto it, wide-eyed. And then you kind of lose track of time.

You don't remember exactly what happens next, but you do remember a lot of running around, and a lot of laughing from everyone else. When you come out of your catnip-induced mania, you find yourself with your head in Mirabelle's lap while she gently scratches your scalp.

You squeak and shoot up, flushing violently, which elicits giggles from Mira, Isa, and Bonbon, and a smirk from Odile.

"I'm glad to see you've finally sobered up," she teases, causing your blush to darken.

You tug on your hat and hide in your collar. "W-we should get moving."

You try to ignore the laughing and teasing from everyone else, but... it's kind of nice! You feel a lot lighter than usual as you continue to the third floor, which plays out without incident. The King, too, falls easily, and before you know it, you're back at the end.

The final scene plays out almost on-script, albeit with more blushing from Isabeau, who still chickens out of his confession, scritches from everyone, and a mini-interrogation from Odile about how, exactly, you managed to hide your "true nature" for so long, and if everyone is a cat where you're from. You manage to dodge her questions by telling her you'll answer them when you get back to Dormont, and then...

...

It's all over if you talk to her.

Still, you approach center stage.

"Traveling one!" she begins, like always. "Are you done talking with your companions? Yes, wonderful, wonderful!"

She continues, like always, thanking you for accompanying Mirabelle, asking you to keep in touch on your travels, it's all the same. So you decide to change things up a little.

"Hi," you say, smiling. "You can start breaking down now."

Euphrasie pauses, confused. "Breaking down...? What do you..."

Right on cue, she gasps, bringing her hand to her mouth in horror.

"Oh... Siffrin...! I'm so sorry! There's no way we can stop it now...!"

Well, this loop was fun at least! You think you're getting used to this!!

Crying, she continues, "I know you thought your quest was over, but it can't be! Something's broken, something's failing, rotting!!!!"

You'll have to refine your new script, but it's been nice to have something new for a change!

You keep smiling up at her, as she breaks down, and the world along with her.

"I can't fix it on my own, not before it all ends… If only I had noticed sooner!!! I should've seen it, prevented it!!!"

That familiar tug on your stomach... but it's okay! You'll be okay! Your family loves you now!!!

You know her entire script by heart, you could probably recite it alongside her.

'It's my fault that you have to suffer like this...'

"It's my fault that you have to suffer like this. I just hope that one day..."

Usually, this scene scares you. But you've gotten used to it. Or maybe it's just leftover effects from the catnip. Either way, you close your eye, and let her final words wash over you.

"You might lear̷̓͜n̷̳̐ ̵͚̐t̷̢̅ò̴͕ ̴͎͛f̷̞̕ǫ̵̈́r̴͇̈

The curtain falls.

When you wake up in the meadow yesterday, you're back to normal.

...You should've expected this. Of course nothing good can last.

...

"A miracle has come upon us once more! Once again, the Metal Virus has been eradicated!"

"Shadow the Hedgehog has knocked sense back into Zombot Silver the Hedgehog, and together the duo had used the power of Chaos Emeralds to cure Silver and remove and purge the Metal Virus from the planet, much like how Sonic and Silver had purged the virus the first time!"

"When we tried interviewing a tired Silver the Hedgehog, he just wanted to go home and rest after the ordeal, which is understandable. Shadow the Hedgehog disappeared before we had the chance to interview him."

"As the virus had been purged, it is now safe to come out of the bunkers and return to your homes without worry of infection!"

"Thank you for tuning in! Time to return to our life of relative normalcy! (For the time being, anyway.)"